At the south end of the town is the now dilapidated building called Vauxhall, where, in 1715, the Chevalier St. George lay for some time concealed, while the secret measures were concocting by his adherents for a general insurrection. This house belonged to the family of the Tyldesleys, who at that time, and long previously, had considerable possessions in this country; but being faithful adherents of the House of Stuart, they embraced the desperate cause of the royal exile with undissembled zeal. Sir Thomas Tyldesley, the head of the family at that moment, prepared this house for the reception of the royal adventurer; but this open declaration of his attachment proved ruinous to himself and his descendants. The last male heir joined the standard of the Chevalier in 1745. One of his ancestors was slain at the battle of Wigan Lane, in that county, while marching to the assistance of Charles II.; a monument to his memory was erected by one of his officers in 1679. It is still in tolerable preservation, and bears an appropriate inscription.
East of Blackpool are situated the townships of Great and Little Marton, where a subterraneous forest has been discovered, by digging out the timber from which many of the peasantry obtain considerable sums. Some of the trees are sound enough to make agricultural instruments, barn roofs and fences, and even articles of ornamental furniture. Much of the land in this neighbourhood has been reclaimed from a state of marsh; and there are still remaining, within a few miles, a Moss comprising several thousand acres—so extensive, indeed, as to have passed into a local aphorism, "As inexhaustible as Pilling Moss," being an ordinary mode of expressing anything that is supposed to be without limit. This moss is reported to have, as lately as 1745, altered considerably in its level, and, by a movement to the south, to have destroyed one hundred acres of improved land. It affords a large supply of fuel for the district, and seems likely to continue to do so for generations to come.
The little watering-place, from which we have thus wandered away, owes its name to a pool of water of more than ordinary darkness of colour, caused by the decaying vegetation of the marshes. It has now, however, disappeared under the hand of modern improvement, and given place to a supply of water more than usually pure, and which is not to be often found in such close proximity to the coast.
BLACKPOOL.
THE SANDS.
"Southward—old Cambria's Alpine charm
Cast their broad shadows o'er the plain;
Northward—the Cambrian summits swell
In many a glittering pinnacle;
In front—the waves, so darkly blue,
Refresh the heart and cheer the view;
While further—Mona's mountains swim
Like clouds upon the horizon's rim."
Blackpool is a favourable instance of that spirit of enterprise which is at work on almost every point of the British coast, and under the creative influence of which so many obscure or little-frequented localities have suddenly risen into provincial, and even national importance. Wherever nature had thrown out any encouraging hint, it has been eagerly taken advantage of by the hand of art, and, under the guidance of taste and liberality, been turned into a source of public emolument. It is, comparatively, only a few years ago since Blackpool exhibited in its appearance nothing superior to that of an inconsiderable hamlet, with few visitors, less trade, and little opportunity of extending the sources of native industry. It is now a fashionable and well-frequented watering-place, deriving a certain annual revenue from its visitors, and enjoying a considerable share of trade, with every reasonable prospect of a progressive increase. These are gratifying facts which abundantly prove the healthful vigour with which the country is animated, and the boundless resources which are everywhere thrown open to native industry and talent.